'More of a historical project than a scientific one, the Pan Inuit Trails project
is an online document of historic and existing Inuit trails and sites
that crisscross North America's Arctic regions. Where most people see a
frozen cap at the top of the continent -- out of reach of human
influence -- this project shows an elaborate network of trade and
exploration routes on land and sea stretching from Greenland to the
northwestern tip of Alaska.

'Using old published and unpublished maps and records, as well as
extensive traditional Inuit knowledge of the region, the researchers
were able to compile a comprehensive record of human mobility and
occupancy in the Arctic. While some of the trails are no longer
reliable, or no longer exist because of ice melt, others are still
heavily used and are now marked by modern snowmobile tracks and Inuit
stone statues.

'Many of the maps came from the 18th and 19th centuries and were commissioned by Arctic explorers and land surveyors.

'Claudio Aporta, an associate professor at Dalhousie University and
co-leader of the atlas project, has been chronicling Inuit trails for
years. He said that even some Inuit were surprised at how far the trails
reached across the continent.

'"There was no awareness of how the trails would basically connect the whole North American Arctic," Aporta said.'